15 Oracle Application Adapters for Oracle WebLogic Server

This chapter describes issues and workarounds for the following Oracle Application Adapters for Oracle WebLogic Server 11g:

Oracle Application Adapter for PeopleSoft

Oracle Application Adapter for SAP R/3

Oracle Application Adapter for Siebel

Oracle Application Adapter for J.D. Edwards OneWorld

Note:

The issues and workarounds listed here are those that were known at the time of the product's initial release to the public. Additional issues and workarounds may have been discovered since the initial release. To view the latest known issues associated with Oracle SOA Suite, BPM Suite, and related SOA technologies, go to the Oracle Technology Network (OTN) at http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/docs/aiasoarelnotes-196861.html.

15.2.1 Testing Outbound BPEL and Mediator Processes

When testing an outbound BPEL process from the BPEL console or an outbound Mediator process from the Enterprise Manager (EM) console, do not use the XML envelopes that are generated by these consoles. Instead, remove them and use the XML payloads that are generated from the schemas, which conform to the WSDLs for namespace qualifications.

The Mediator data flows can be tested using the EM console. When creating a Mediator data flow and interactions, the Web services are created and registered with the Oracle Application Server. For more information about testing Web services, see your Oracle Application Server administrator and the following documentation:

15.2.2 Certified Repository

iWay Software adapters have been certified with the Oracle enterprise database as the repository. The version that was certified is Oracle Database 11g Enterprise Edition (11.1.0.7.0).

Other versions of the Oracle enterprise database are also supported as long as they are supported by the Oracle SOA Suite. Except for the Oracle enterprise database, iWay Software does not support any other database, including Oracle XE, Oracle Berkeley Database, or databases from other vendors.

15.2.3 HTTP Repository Connection

HTTP repository connections are not supported for 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.3.0), which prevents you from connecting to the Oracle Application Adapters instance from a remote machine. As a workaround, you must install Application Explorer on every platform where integration with Oracle Application Adapters using Application Explorer is required.

15.2.4 File Repository Usage

Do not use a File repository in development, testing, and production environments. Only use the Oracle database repository.

15.2.5 Using Business Services Engine for Inbound Processing

Using Business Services Engine (BSE) for inbound processing is not supported. BSE only supports services (outbound).

15.2.6 Synchronous Events

15.2.7 Ports Option for Inbound Processing

The ports option for inbound processing is not supported for J2CA events. Only the no-ports option is supported.

15.2.8 Supported Custom Objects

iWay continues to support the custom objects of an EIS. However, iWay cannot guarantee the support for all custom objects at the customer environment. Support to the custom object will be considered on a case by case option. Custom objects could fall under any of the following category:

SAP

BAPIs, RFCs, and ALE/IDocs

Siebel

Business Objects, Business Services, and Integration Objects

PeopleSoft

Component Interfaces and Messages

J.D. Edwards OneWorld

Business Functions and Transaction Types

It is recommended that customers who wish to troubleshoot an issue with the custom objects of an EIS, provide the following to iWay:

Data and definition of custom objects.

Request and response XML documents for the custom objects.

Reproduction steps for the custom object.

15.2.9 Adapter Compatibility

You cannot have multiple versions of the client library files in the same lib directory. Therefore, you cannot have one instance of the adapter configured to connect to different EIS versions at the same time by using different versions of the client library files.

15.2.10 Unsupported Configuration

Installing the Oracle Application Adapters and iWay 55 (iWay Service Manager and the iWay adapters) on the same machine is currently not a supported configuration. As a workaround, use a separate machine for each version.

15.2.11 Encoding Support

The Oracle Application Adapters support only UTF-8 encoding.

15.2.12 J2CA Components

If you are working with a J2CA configuration and you create, update, or delete an adapter target or channel using Application Explorer, then you must restart Oracle WebLogic Server. This is required to refresh the repository and recognize the new/updated target or channel in the J2CA Test Servlet, BPEL Process, and Mediator Process. The default URL for the J2CA Test Servlet is:

http://hostname:port/iwafjca

This applies to J2CA targets and channels only, not BSE targets. This also applies when a target or a channel parameter is modified using Application Explorer.

15.2.13 Invoking a Run-Time Message When BSE Is Unavailable

When invoking a run-time message while BSE is unavailable, a "Whitespace required" exception error occurs.

The error message "unable to connect to URL http://host:port/ibse..." appears.

15.2.14 Invoking Outbound BPEL Process at Run Time Using BSE

When invoking an outbound BPEL process at run time using BSE, a "Not able to find SoapRouter" message appears.

Workaround: Add the following element in the respective XML file:

<property name "optSoapShortcut">false</property>

15.2.15 Java Command Error in iwae.sh

When the iwae.sh file is executed, the "Java command is not found" error is generated.

As a workaround, you must set the JAVACMD path in the iwae.sh file to OracleAS_home/jdk/bin/.

For example:

C:\oracle\product\11.1.0\db_1\jdk\bin

15.2.16 Using the J2CA Test Tool for Outbound Only

The J2CA Test Tool must be used only for outbound (services). Inbound (events) activity options available in the tool are not supported.

15.2.17 BSE Web Services Browser Pages Do Not Support DBCS Input

When using a BSE configuration, the browser-based test tools add encodings to the content being sent. The BSE test tool causes characters to become garbled due to these added encodings. Therefore, you cannot perform a test using input that contains Japanese characters. A possible workaround is to use a tool that can send pure SOAP requests.

15.2.18 Adapter Language Certification

iWay Adapters are certified with the English language. The following adapters for 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.3.0) are certified with the Japanese language:

Oracle Application Adapter for SAP R/3 (using SAP JCo 2.1.x and 3.x)

Oracle Application Adapter for Siebel

Oracle Application Adapter for PeopleSoft

The Oracle Application Adapter for J.D. Edwards OneWorld is not certified with the Japanese language, but it is supported. If you encounter any issues with other languages, then contact iWay Customer Support for a workaround.

15.2.19 File Channel

The File channel for events is not supported in production environments for the Oracle Application Adapter for PeopleSoft, Oracle Application Adapter for J.D. Edwards OneWorld, and Oracle Application Adapter for Siebel. The File channel is available only for testing purposes in a non-network environment. As a best practice, it is not recommended to use the File channel.

15.2.20 JDK Version Support for Application Explorer

Application Explorer only supports JDK version 1.6.x. Application Explorer will generate a java.lang.UnsupportedClassVersionError exception, if the Java version that is being used is not JDK version 1.6.x. As a workaround, verify that you have the the correct Java version installed when using Application Explorer. For example, your PATH environment variable should be configured as follows:

PATH=E:\wls_home\jdk160_05\bin;%PATH%

In this example, wls_home is the location where Oracle WebLogic Server is installed.

----------------------------------------------- starting java ----------------------------------------------- Exception in thread "main" java.lang.UnsupportedClassVersionError: Bad version number in .class file at java.lang.ClassLoader.defineClass1(Native Method) at java.lang.ClassLoader.defineClass(Unknown Source) at java.security.SecureClassLoader.defineClass(Unknown Source) at java.net.URLClassLoader.defineClass(Unknown Source) at java.net.URLClassLoader.access$100(Unknown Source) at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(Unknown Source) at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method) at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(Unknown Source) at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source) at sun.misc.Launcher$AppClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source) at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source) at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClassInternal(Unknown Source)

15.2.21 Unsupported Adapter Functionality

The Oracle Application Adapter for SAP R/3, Oracle Application Adapter for PeopleSoft, Oracle Application Adapter for Siebel, and Oracle Application Adapter for J.D. Edwards OneWorld does not support functionality such as Transaction, XA, and two-phase commit.

15.3 Application Explorer

The following topics discuss issues that pertain to Application Explorer:

15.3.1 Environment Variable and Permission Settings

15.3.2 Unable to Connect to Remote Machines Using File or DB Repositories for J2CA Configurations

Application Explorer cannot be used to connect to remote machines for a J2CA configuration when using a File or DB repository. When using a J2CA configuration, SOA Suite must be installed on the same machine that is being used as the container for the adapters. If you need to use Application Explorer to connect to the SOA Suite on a remote machine, then configure an HTTP repository instead. For more information on how to create a connection using an HTTP repository, see Section 15.2.3, "HTTP Repository Connection".

15.3.3 Unsupported JMS Disposition

Expanding the Events node and any Adapter node in Application Explorer generates the following exception in the log file:

15.4.1 PeopleSoft LDAP Authentication Incompatible

PeopleSoft LDAP authentication relies on sign-on PeopleCode. However, the authentication services that PeopleSoft provides with Component Interfaces do not invoke sign-on PeopleCode, so you cannot use PeopleSoft LDAP authentication with Oracle Application Adapter for PeopleSoft.

Workaround

None.

15.4.2 Automatic Reconnect to PeopleSoft

Oracle Application Adapter for PeopleSoft does not automatically reconnect when a connection to PeopleSoft becomes unavailable.

Workaround

None.

15.4.3 HTTPS Protocol

Oracle Application Adapter for PeopleSoft does not support the HTTPS protocol for events.

Workaround

None.

15.4.4 PeopleSoft Messages

Oracle Application Adapter for PeopleSoft uses messages only for events and not for services.

Workaround

None.

15.4.5 Limitation with Level 2 Scrolls

PeopleSoft has acknowledged a limitation with Component Interfaces that contain level 2 scrolls. If you try to insert a new row on a level 2 scroll, then a Null Pointer Exception error occurs.

If you receive this error, then you must upgrade your PeopleSoft release level.

This limitation is fixed in PeopleTools Version 8.16.08, and PeopleTools Version 8.17.02 in the 8.1x code line. It is tracked by PeopleSoft Incident T-MZYGAR-2C5YS.

In the 8.4x code line, this limitation is tracked by PeopleSoft Incident T-TCHURY-YZ9FR and is fixed in PeopleSoft 8.41.

Workaround

None.

15.4.6 Limitation with Level 3 Scrolls

PeopleSoft has acknowledged a limitation with Component Interfaces that contain level 3 scrolls. If you try to insert a new row on a level 3 scroll, then a Null Pointer Exception error occurs.

If you receive this error, then you must upgrade your PeopleSoft release level.

This limitation is fixed in PeopleTools Version 8.18 and is tracked by PeopleSoft Incident T-MZYGAR-D2529. However, this is still a limitation in PeopleSoft 8.41 and 8.42 (PeopleSoft Incident T-MZYGAR-3F72X). PeopleSoft has reported that this will be fixed in 8.43 (PeopleSoft incident report, 562734000).

Workaround

None.

15.4.7 Limitation with Effective Dated Scrolls

PeopleSoft has acknowledged that there is a limitation with effective dating and multiple transactions. If you want to insert multiple effective dated rows for the same primary keys, then you must use two separate transactions. This limitation is tracked by PeopleSoft Incident T-ACESAR-BS362.

Workaround

None.

15.4.8 Limitation When Inserting a Second Row for Level 1, 2, or 3 Scrolls

If you are trying to insert a level 1, 2, or 3 scroll and the following conditions exist:

There is exactly one row for the level 1, 2, or 3 scroll.

There are required field names that end in a numeric value.

An error message appears, in the following format:

This is an invalid property {ADDRESS_1} (91,15)

This example was created using the VNDR_ID Component Interface from the Financials application. Note that the actual property name is ADDRESS1.

Workaround

As a workaround, perform the following steps:

In the PeopleSoft Application Designer, open the Component Interface with which you are working.

Select the property that ends in a numeric value.

Right-click and select Edit Name from the context menu.

Change the name of the property.

You can select a name that does not end in a number (for example, ADDRESSA), or you can add an underscore (for example, ADDRESS_1).

Save the Component Interface.

Regenerate the Java APIs for the Component Interface.

Use the revised property name in your XML transaction.

15.4.9 Limitation when Creating a Schema for Multilevel Component Interfaces

In later releases of the 8.1x series, if you try to create a schema for a multilevel Component Interface, then the following error occurs:

Index: -1, Size: 0

This is a result of a change in the back-end PeopleSoft interface in later versions of the 8.1 series.

Workaround

Use the iwpsci84.jar file and delete the iwpsci81.jar file from the wls_home\erp-adapters\lib directory.

15.4.10 PeopleTools Date Format

The YYYY-MM-DD date format does not work for a Component Interface key.

PeopleSoft has acknowledged this limitation for most releases of PeopleTools and has addressed it in the newest releases. For more information, see PeopleSoft Resolution ID 200730918.

Workaround

Use the MM/DD/YYYY format. Alternatively, you can write a PeopleSoft method that takes a date format of YYYY-MM-DD, changes the date to a string, reformats it to DD/MM/YYYY, and passes it to the Component Interface date.

15.4.11 Generating Java APIs

It is possible to create Component Interfaces within PeopleSoft that are internally inconsistent. Inconsistencies have been found in some Component Interface templates that have been delivered by PeopleSoft. Indicators of this problem include errors when generating the Java APIs in the PeopleSoft Application Designer.

If you encounter errors while generating the Java APIs, then the Component Interface is likely to malfunction and can possibly corrupt your database. The correct operation of Component Interfaces when errors appear during API generation cannot be guaranteed. In addition, it is strongly recommended that the source of the errors is fixed before continuing.

The differences between Component Interfaces and standard application functionality relating to panel processing have been observed. Among the possible symptoms of these differences are messages such as, "First Operand of . is NULL." Oracle Application Adapter for PeopleSoft should replicate the functionality of a PeopleSoft Component Interface, but only when the Component Interface is run through the PeopleSoft application server in three-tier mode.

If you notice differences between expected Component Interface functionality and adapter functionality, then you must verify that the differences are real by running the Component Interface with the PeopleTools Component Interface test tool in three-tier mode.

PeopleSoft has acknowledged problems in the Component Interface back-end processor, which will cause the adapter to act differently than the Component Interface test tool in three-tier mode for certain Component Interfaces.

PeopleSoft Case 1965239 describes a problem with the CI_JOB_DATA_HIRE Component Interface in HR 8.1x. In this situation, the NAME field is not populated by PeopleCode correctly. The workaround is to manually populate the NAME field through the XML.

PeopleSoft Resolution ID 200728981 describes a problem with the JOBCODE Component Interface, which does not allow the REG_TEMP field to be changed to empty. As a workaround, customers must upgrade to a later release of PeopleTools.

Workaround

The workaround is dependent on the Component Interface.

15.4.16 Multiple Effective Dated Scrolls

A failure occurs when inserting multiple effective dated rows.

Workaround

If you want to insert multiple effective dated rows for the same primary keys, then you must use two separate transactions. This limitation is tracked by PeopleSoft Incident T-ACESAR-BS362.

15.4.17 Debug Message

For certain releases of PeopleTools 8.4x, you may receive the following message in your debug window:

PSProperties not yet initialized!

This is a PeopleSoft warning message you can ignore.

Workaround

None.

15.4.18 LOCATION Component Interface

When you attempt to access the LOCATION Component Interface using the Human Resources application, release 8.80.000, a failure occurs during runtime and the following message is displayed:

Component Interface Not Found

This is due to a problem in the way the PeopleSoft application has been delivered and is not related to the PeopleTools release.

Workaround

Perform the following steps:

Open the Component Interface in the PeopleTools Application Designer.

Make a small change to the Component Interface.

Undo the change.

Save the Component Interface.

This procedure resets certain internal PeopleSoft data structures, which enables Oracle Application Adapter for PeopleSoft to find the Component Interface. This has been observed in the LOCATION Component Interface running on the Human Resource applications release 8.8.000 on several different releases of PeopleTools, but it may occur in other Component Interfaces as well.

15.4.19 Component Interface Names

Although PeopleSoft permits Component Interface names that begin with certain special characters (such as an underscore), Application Explorer does not recognize such names.

Workaround

Begin Component Interface names with the letters A-Z or the integers 0-9.

When you compile all Java APIs for the Component Interfaces using People Tools 8.46, you may encounter compilation errors with some of the Component Interfaces.

Workaround

You can manually correct the Java source code of the failing Component Interfaces. Alternatively, if the failing Component Interfaces are not going to be used, then remove them from the API build process and do not include them in the build.

15.5 Oracle Application Adapter for SAP R/3: Issues and Workarounds

The following topics discuss issues that pertain to both versions of Oracle Application Adapter for SAP R/3 (using SAP JCo 2.1.x and 3.x).

iWay Software released the SAP R/3 adapter for SAP Java Connector (JCo) version 2.1.8 in 2007. The SAP JCO 2.1.8 / 2.1.9 (where x is the sub version number) support is limited to Java 1.4 JVM support. Note that while SAP has extended the life of the 2.x JCo until 2013, iWay Software can only support this connector for SUN JVM 1.4 under the terms of SAP note 549268.

SAP has released the SAP Java Connector 3 (JCo) for Java 1.5 and 1.6 support. iWay Software has also released the SAP R/3 adapter (using SAPJCo 3.x) and recommends that all customers migrate to this version to take advantage of the speed and stability that is offered by JCo 3.x and the new features that have been added to the adapter.

Oracle Application Adapter for SAP R/3 (using SAP JCo 3.x) is developed with Java 1.5 and also certified on Java 1.6. Note that if the SAP R/3 adapter is deployed to an application server, the application server must also use Java 1.5 or higher. Customers are encouraged to upgrade to the new version of the SAP R/3 adapter in 2010 to provide ongoing support, maintenance, and enhancements. For specific releases of SAP JCo 3.x, see SAP note 1077727.

iWay Software is separately announcing the advanced notification of End Of Support (EOS) for the SAP R/3 adapter (using SAP JCo 2.1.x) effective 12/31/2011. 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.3.0) is the last supported release for the SAP R/3 adapter (using SAP JCo 2.1.x). It is recommended for customers to begin migrating to the SAP R/3 adapter (using SAP JCo 3.x) starting with 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.3.0). This is the only Oracle release where both versions of the SAP R/3 adapters are supported. The SAP R/3 adapter (using SAP JCo 2.1.x) adapter is not supported in any future releases as well as after 12/31/2011.

15.5.2 Oracle JRockit JVM Not Supported

The Oracle JRockit JVM is not supported by SAP. For more information, see SAP note 549268 for SAP JCo 2.1x and SAP note 1077727 for SAP JCo 3.x.

For supported JVM information that corresponds to each operating system, refer to SAP note 1077727 in the SAP Service Marketplace. If a specific JVM is not included on the list of supported JVMs, then it is not supported by SAP.

15.5.5 Native IDoc Format Support

The native IDoc format for inbound processing is not currently supported for 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.3.0). This issue will be resolved by applying a patch in a future release.

15.5.6 XML With CDATA

XML with the CDATA option is not supported by Oracle Application Adapter for SAP R/3 (using SAP JCo 3.0.5).

15.5.7 SAP R/3 4.6C Support

Oracle Application Adapter for SAP R/3 uses SAP JCo APIs that are provided by SAP. The support for this adapter is paired with the official supported versions of SAP JCo.

SAP R/3 4.6C is out of general maintenance by SAP. iWay Software can access SAP 4.6C systems using the current SAP JCo API. Adapter service is only provided by the SAP JCo API via the SAP RFC interface. If there are any application processing issues arising because of release compatibility, then the adapter user (customer) is responsible to resolve those issues by consulting with SAP. iWay Software does not provide support for SAP application or communication compatibility issues for SAP JCo and SAP R/3 4.6C systems.

15.5.8 SAP Java Connector (SAP JCo) Version Support

SAP JCo Version 2.1.8 is no longer supported by SAP. SAP recommends using SAP JCo Version 2.1.9. For more information, see SAP note 1257539 in the SAP Service Marketplace.

SAP JCo Version 2.1.x (2.1.9) is not supported on the Windows 64-bit platform. The JCo API does not support this platform.

15.5.9 Date and Time Field Mapping

Both versions of Oracle Application Adapter for SAP R/3 (using SAP JCo 2.1.9 and 3.0) only handle date of format "yyyy-MM-dd" and time of format "HH:mm:ss".

Many remotely callable functions have a field that has a DATE format. The DATE field object of an adapter is equivalent to the ABAP DATE object as an 8 byte string with the format YYMMDD. In the SAP GUI, other profiles may be executed that transform the data display in the SAP GUI environment. However, the data is always stored in the DATE object format. For ease of use, the SAP Java Connector (JCo) converts data for DATE objects that also have the format YYYY-MM-DD to YYYYMMDD. A field must have format DATE (ABAP type D) to enable these transformations. RFC and BAPI functions employ fields with type D objects. All data for IDocs is type C (Character) by definition of the EDI_DD40 structure in the ABAP dictionary. Therefore, IDocs only accept the YYYYMMDD format as no conversions are performed on the field.

The TIME field object of an adapter is equivalent to the ABAP TIME object as a 6 byte string with the format HHMMSS. In the SAP GUI, other profiles may be executed that transform the time display in the SAP GUI environment. However, the data is always stored in the TIME object format. For ease of use, the SAP Java Connector (JCo) converts data for TIME objects that also have the format HH:MM:SS to HHMMSS. A field must have format TIME (ABAP type T) to enable these transformations. RFC and BAPI functions employ fields with type T objects. All data for IDocs is type C (Character) by definition of the EDI_DD40 structure in the ABAP dictionary. Therefore, IDocs will only accept HHMMSS as no conversions are performed on the field.

15.5.10 Intermediate Documents (IDocs) During Inbound Processing

When using collected IDocs during inbound processing (service mode) where one XML file contains multiple IDocs, a unique sequence number must be provided to identify each individual IDoc in the sequence. If the SAP application server cannot determine a correct sequence from the collected IDocs, then data from the first IDoc is taken and added (duplicated) to each subsequent IDoc. All data segments in subsequent IDocs in the collected IDoc file are ignored. For more information on this topic, consult the SAP ALE reference documentation.

Encoding

Encoding is a general term encompassing communications, hardware, software and instance documents. Encoding is usually not noticed until it is incorrect, when a document contains invalid characters with blank spaces or "?" or "#" characters. There are several areas to examine when investigating an encoding issue:

Communications Channel

The communications channel encoding between the SAP server and the client machine is managed by the SAP server. The relevant client libraries query the client machine for the encoding setting and configure the communication with this information

Hardware

The client machine encoding can be determined via the Windows Control Panel Applet "Region and Language" or the "Set_Locale" environment variable on Unix or Linux machines. When using the "Set_Locale" variable, the actual Locale files must be present on the client machine. On Windows machines, the required language pack must be installed.

Software

Character sets are the characters or symbols of a given language or languages, and the numeric value that is used by the client machine to map data to the correct character or symbol. Data is represented in character sets and encoding is the means of transmitting this information to another character set, either local or remote. If a given character has a correct numeric value, but a missing symbol, then this results in the common convention of using "?" for the character. The resolution may be as simple as switching to a different encoding. There is also a chance that fonts, which are used to render characters or symbols on a screen or paper, do not have the correct representation or any representation for a given numeric value. This also must be checked.

A source of encoding confusion that is often overlooked is the JVM encoding, which can prevail if a document is missing an encoding statement. Missing encoding declarations can occur and unless a specific application catches this, often the JVM encoding is used as the encoding, Always check the JVM encoding parameters if an encoding issue occurs to ensure that this issue is not the cause.

Instance Document

The XML header declaration contains an encoding statement. It should be remembered that it is a declaration, not a promise. A document may state "UTF-8" but be saved in "ASCII" or some other format. Mismatched document encoding is a common mistake that usually can be resolved by opening it in an editor that supports saving in different encodings and save to the declaration statement. However, always ensure when saving to a given encoding that all characters are present and correct after the save.

SAP IDoc data with Japanese DBCS characters overflows and truncates characters in all BSE and J2CA events and services.

Explanation:

This issue only occurs on non-Unicode SAP MDMP environments, where one character can be two or more bytes. As an example of this issue, when using Japanese, the SAP field length is four characters. The English word "ball" fits correctly into the field because one character equals one byte. The Japanese word for ball in Shift-Jis encoding is three characters, but two bytes per character, so the last character is truncated and the last character appears in the next field. Since IDocs are positional delimited, this can cause errors in processing. This occurs because SAP uses character length, not byte length for all non-Unicode field lengths. There is no work around on this issue other than using Unicode or using shorter text in IDocs in DBCS.

15.5.12 No Values Set for Code and Details in Binding Fault

If you use the wrong request XML to invoke a SAP outbound process in Oracle BPEL Console, then the instance will be faulted and a binding fault will be thrown. Log in to the Oracle BPEL Console, select the faulted instance, and then click Audit. No values are set for Code and Details in the binding fault.

Workaround

None.

15.5.13 SAP R/3 Adapter Exceptions

During outbound processing, the following type of exception from the BPEL or Mediator layer may occur in certain situations:

At the same time, the JCA log file that is generated by the adapter shows the exact error message. For example, if you use the GetDetail method for the CompanyCode SAP BAPI in your outbound processing, the following error message is shown in the JCA log file:

In the Password field, type a valid password for the SAP R/3 application.

Click OK.

Close Application Explorer.

Oracle BPEL or Mediator generates the error message in the response XML document. For example, if you use the GetDetail method for the CompanyCode SAP BAPI in your outbound processing, the following error message is shown in the XML response:

15.5.14 Behavior With Multiple Channels

When different channels are created using identical connection parameters (server, gateway, and program ID) the SAP gateway automatically enters load balancing mode. The load balancing algorithm is determined by the gateway profile configuration during gateway installation. Typically these include least used, lightest load, or several other SAP selections. If you are intentionally setting load balancing, then consult the gateway manager for the proper procedure to configure the adapter and Oracle instances to take advantage of load balancing features on the system. If load balancing is accidentally triggered by configuration errors, then it can result in missing messages (sent to anther server) or wrong destination.

For example:

Shipping selects server A1 with gateway 01 and program ID MyProg.

Purchasing selects server A1 with gateway 01 and program ID MyProg.

Shipping sends ten messages and only six appear at the BPEL process.

Purchasing sends ten messages and only five appear at the BPEL process.

Shipping cannot understand what happened to four missing messages.

Shipping cannot understand why they have five purchasing messages.

The same applies for Purchasing.

Workaround

Change the program ID to a unique key for each department, as this is not a load balanced scenario.

15.5.15 Connections Not Listed in SAP Gateway Monitor

There are some occurrences when connections being made to SAP R/3 using Application Explorer are not listed in the SAP Gateway Monitor (transaction SMGW). This issue pertains to Oracle Application Adapter for SAP R/3 (using SAP JCo 3.0).

The adapter does not connect directly to the SAP R/3 system, but to the SAP JCo. Since the SAP JCo manages the connections to SAP R/3, and most connections are rapid and transient, most client (inbound) connections to SAP R/3 do not display in the SAP Gateway Monitor (transaction SMGW). Regular SAP JCo and RFC client traces are available from the client tracing options as described in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Application Adapter for SAP R/3 (SAP JCo 3.0) User's Guide. Server connections are persistent and are listed under "logged on Clients" in transaction SMGW.

15.5.16 Multithreading Functionality With the Outbound Listener

The adapter usually attempts to start three threads for each SAP outbound event channel. This is performance consistent with the SAP Gateway model, where only one thread is active at a time to emit. However, in the adapter one thread is emitting, one thread is writing, and one thread is in cleanup. If the gateway administrator enables multithreading on a particular program ID, then multiply the iWay threads by three when setting the threads for maximum performance.

15.5.17 Single Sign-On

SAP supports single sign-on by means of authentication tickets created in its own programs. Currently, there is no single sign-on support between Oracle Application Servers and SAP ERP systems.

15.5.18 Metadata Support

SAP ERP Version 6.0 introduced many new data structures, such as deep (multi-level) structures, nested structures (structures where each column is itself a structure), and tables of such data structures. Currently, only deep and nested structures are supported. Nested tables or line types are currently not supported by the adapter.

15.6 Oracle Application Adapter for Siebel: Issues and Workarounds

The following topics discuss issues that pertain to Oracle Application Adapter for Siebel.

15.6.1 Additional Configuration in the Siebel Environment

Some out-of-the-box Siebel business services may require additional setup steps in the Siebel environment before they can be run successfully. For example:

When using a business service such as EAI XML Converter, before generating the XSD for the integration object, you should use Siebel tools to remove the 'xml container element' tag in the integration components you plan to use.

When building a solution with the EAI dispatch service business service, you may need to set up a named subsystem to handle HTTP requests.

15.6.2 Service and Integration Nodes

Service nodes and Integration node can be created using only alphanumeric characters and "-" "_". No other special characters are allowed.

15.6.3 Automatic Reconnect to Siebel

When connecting to Siebel using the Java Data Bean Interface, you cannot reconnect after initial connection loss. This might occur when Application Explorer experiences a brief loss of network connection or if the Siebel Server or Gateway Service is restarted while Application Explorer is logged into the Siebel application.

Workaround

To log in successfully to the Siebel application, restart your application server and Application Explorer. This is a known Siebel API issue. For more information, see Siebel Alert 984.

If you are logged in as a Siebel user that does not belong to the team that owns the record being updated or deleted, then you cannot perform the action. By default, the adapter is set to 'My' view. However, in Siebel Access Control there are other views, such as 'All' view and 'Organization' view. Therefore, even if the user does not belong to the team and the record is not visible in 'My' view, the user may be able to update or delete the record through another view in the Siebel front end. This is not possible through the adapter. The adapter requires that the user is part of the team of the record being updated or deleted.

Workaround

There are two possible workarounds:

Log in through the Siebel adapter as a user that is already part of the team that owns the record you need to update or delete.

Add the user to the team that owns the record you need to update or delete.

15.7.1 J.D. Edwards OneWorld Unit Of Work (UOW)

The following section provides information on the J.D. Edwards OneWorld Unit of Work (UOW).

iWay recommends you to generate individual business functions of J.D. Edwards OneWorld and then group them together.

Generating the individual business functions and grouping them together is completely based on the experience and knowledge related to the business functions of J.D. Edwards OneWorld. There is no documentation on generating the UOW.

To create the XML Schema Document (XSD) files that can be used for UOW, perform the following steps:

Trigger the appropriate event from the J.D. Edwards OneWorld GUI and generate an XML output file based on the event.

Using the XML file, create an XSD file using an XML editor, such as XMLSPY.

When creating the XSD, make sure that the XSD satisfies the SOA 11g namespace requirements. Manually add the namespace, target namespace, and other items that are required for SOA 11g.

Once generated, copy the XSD files for the UOW into the repository folder. This repository folder is automatically configured on your file system when a J.D. Edwards OneWorld target is created using Application Explorer.

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